Voices of Reason
by brokenbottleaurora
Summary: A chance encounter makes Harry rethink his connection with Voldemort. Attitudes are changed and lives are saved, but will Harry be able to live with the consequences?
1. Chapter 1

AN: When I started this, I had no idea where this story was headed. I always put off posting multi-chapter stories until they're finished so that I can adjust the storyline as needed. But this time I decided to throw caution to wind this time and let the plot fall where it may. Thanks in advance for your patience- _Fasten your safety belts, clench your buttocks! It's going be a bumpy ride!_

* * *

Voices of Reason

 _April 4, 1996_

Harry Potter had never enjoyed spending time in the library unless he had to. But today, with everyone packing to go home for Easter, it was one of the most isolated places in the castle, which was just what he and his still aching head needed. Rubbing his temples, he flopped down at a secluded table.

"I hate that I can't shut this connection down," Harry grumbled to himself. "At least I don't have to deal with Snape anymore, but it would be nice to stop feeling like a lunatic, hearing voices and whatnot…"

"It's not about the voices in your head—it's about what you do with them," came a soft voice from around a bookshelf.

Harry stiffened. He'd assumed he was alone – or at least he had been when he came in. Wand drawn and a memory charm halfway to his lips, he stood and crept toward the source of the voice.

"Hello, Harry," it said, behind him this time.

Harry whipped around and then lowered his wand, clasping his chest in relief. "Merlin, Luna, you scared the bloody hell out of me. What are you doing in the library right now? Shouldn't you be packing?"

"I like to use it as my own little oasis, too," she said, running her fingers along the tomes beside her. "And I finished packing already. I do it in the middle of the night. It's easier to make sure nothing disappears that way."

"Your things disappear?" Harry asked darkly. He knew that Luna was a bit of an outcast, but he hadn't expected her dormmates to stoop to full-on bullying.

Luna nodded. "They always find their way back in the end. But I like to think of their disappearance as more of a sign than an inconvenience, kind of like hearing voices. Wouldn't you agree, Harry?"

"Uh, well, it's not voices, per se, you see… I, uh, just have some, uhm, odd dreams sometimes," he hedged, cursing his fat mouth.

"And Professor Snape is teaching you Occlumency to help keep them out," Luna finished.

"No, it's not that, I just—"

"Your secret is safe with me, Harry," Luna assured him. "But it doesn't sound like he's been all that successful in teaching you. Not surprising – his head's always surrounded by nargles, you see."

"Uh, yeah. I would really appreciate you keeping this between us, Luna. It means a lot," Harry said.

She gave him a dreamy smile. "Of course, Harry. But if you want my advice, I'll tell you what my grandmother told me: it's not about the voices in your head—it's about what you do with them. They can save lives, but they can take them as well."

With that, she floated away, and Harry found himself deep in thought. Snape was obviously a crap teacher, at least for Harry. So if there wasn't a way to stop the visions, the least he could do was try to do something smart with them.

But hadn't he done that? He saved Arthur Weasley's life for crying out loud!

 _By sheer, dumb luck!_ said a voice in his head that sounded oddly like Minerva McGonagall.

Harry slumped against a bookshelf. That _had_ been luck, and now Voldemort had to be aware of the connection. It wasn't just about glimpsing what Voldemort was doing anymore. If he wasn't careful, Voldemort might be able to manipulate exactly what Harry saw. Talk about a whole new can of Flobberworms.

With a determined stride, Harry marched back to Gryffindor Tower. He'd already joined the physical side of the war; it was time to start on the mental one.

* * *

 _June 18, 1996_

"What did you find out?" Ron asked. "Has You-Know-Who got Sirius or–?"

Harry's scar prickled painfully. "Yeah, and Sirius is still alive! But I can't see how—"

Before he could finish that thought, Harry caught Luna's penetrating gaze. He instantly flashed back to the day before Easter holidays and the subtle warning she'd given him about trusting his visions so absolutely. If Harry was being honest with himself, there was still a niggling of doubt in the back of his mind. What if Sirius simply didn't have his mirror on him? What if he was in the kitchen of Number 12? Harry could walk into a trap, all because he didn't take the extra ten minutes to see for himself. Besides, Kreacher wasn't exactly the most helpful elf, and he hated Sirius. He could be lying about everything!

Pain flooded his scar again, jerking him back to reality. "Ugh, never mind. Dumbledore hinted that Voldemort knows about our connection. We've been waiting for him to use it against me, and now that I've had time to think about it, I think it might be happening," Harry ground out, torn between his desire to save Sirius now and the knowledge that he should find out for sure if Sirius was at home. On top of it all, the pain in his scar was becoming unbearable.

"Grimmauld Place is on the way to the Ministry, as the thestral flies," Luna pointed out helpfully. The rest of the teens gaped at her. "What? Without Floo access or the ability to Apparate, it's the only way we'll ever make it." Hermione and Neville looked green at the prospect but, to their credit, didn't argue.

"The Ministry's in London – what if we just popped by Sirius's place on the way?" Ginny suggested.

Hermione nodded thoughtfully. "It would have been so easy for Kreacher to lie to you through the Floo. If you see him in person, you could interrogate him more thoroughly. We can Floo to the Ministry from there anyway."

One glance at Ron and Neville made it clear – they thought a pit stop at Number 12 was a good idea. Harry nearly sighed with relief; his friends not only understood his doubts but wanted wanted to help ease them, too. He was terrified to leave Sirius in Voldemort's clutches, but if his friends _all_ thought this was a good idea, it was worth pursuing. He was sure Sirius would agree.

It was surprisingly easy to attract a half dozen thestrals, aided by the scent of Grawp's blood on Harry and Hermione's clothes. Just as they began mounting the thestrals, Hedwig fluttered to a landing in the nearest tree.

"You always know when I need you, don't you girl?" Harry muttered, stroking her feathers. "Can you show us how to get to Sirius's place?" She hooted indignantly – of course she could!

The six teens took off into the night, following Hedwig to Grimmauld Place. Harry struggled to stay conscious as the pain in his scar began to swell. As they approached the house from the air, he swore at the tiny front stoop. Just as he was about to redirect everyone, the front step magically expanded to hold everyone, including the thestrals.

As Luna was convincing the skeletal horses to wait for them, Harry burst into Number 12 Grimmauld Place. " _Sirius_!" he cried, seizing his head. "Where are you?"

First one and then another pair of feet thundered down the stairs. Remus searched frantically for the danger, his eyes wild and his wand brandished like a sword. Sirius, his hair sticking straight out on one side, covered his back. When they finally caught sight of the teens, they relaxed a bit but didn't drop their wands.

"What are you lot doing here at—" Sirius yawned and checked the grandfather clock in the entry. "Merlin, do you know what time it is? _Harry, are you alright_?"

"How did you get here?" Remus asked curiously.

"We'll explain everything later," Harry snapped, nearly collapsing from both the pain in his head and the relief of seeing Sirius so… utterly well and himself. "I just had to make sure you were okay."

At their confused looks, Hermione explained, "We were afraid this was going to turn into a rescue mission. Harry had another vision, this time about Voldemort torturing you at the Ministry in the Hall of Prophecies. Harry was skeptical about whether or not what he heard and saw was real, since we know that V-V-Voldemort knows about the connection and that he's after a prophecy. But Dumbledore isn't at Hogwarts, McGonagall got sent to St. Mungo's, and we didn't know who to trust. So we decided that we'd go after you ourselves, if you weren't here of course. But you are, so…" she trailed off as she met Sirius's now thunderous gaze.

"Sitting room, _now_ ," he said tersely, jabbing his wand toward the stairs. "Kreacher, bring Harry a pain potion."

The six teens trudged upstairs, putting on their best "well-chastised" faces. When they were lined up on the sofas, Sirius released his fury.

" _What_ in Merlin's name made you think it would be a good idea for you to haul off to the Ministry, straight into what is likely a trap and a direct confrontation with Voldemort?" Sirius bellowed.

"Sirius, look at it from—" Remus started.

"Don't interrupt me while I'm trying to be angry, Remus," he growled. "These kids nearly got themselves killed going off on some kind of half-cocked rescue mission!"

" _No_ , they didn't," Remus replied, placing a firm hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Weren't you listening? Or did you hear 'rescue mission' and 'Voldemort' and then nothing else?"

Sirius deflated a bit and perched on an overstuffed chair. "Fine. Let's hear the full of it, kids. And I mean _all_ of it, even the parts of the plan you didn't have to use."

By the time the teens had finished their story, Sirius had called Kreacher for drinks all around.

"Bloody hell," Remus muttered, draining his glass of firewhiskey.

"Merlin's saggy underpants," Sirius echoed, slumping into his chair, an empty tumbler hanging from his fingertips. "I understand why you were going to rush off and save me, I really do, and I appreciate the thought. But please, never, and I mean _never_ put yourselves in danger like that for me, okay? Do you hear me?" he asked, staring hard at each of the six teens in turn.

They each nodded obediently, except for Harry.

"I can't make that promise," Harry objected. "You're the only family I've got left, and if you're in trouble, I'm coming to get you."

"I'm _not_ the only family you have left," Sirius argued. "Look around you. These people are every bit as much your family as I am. But _you_ – you and Remus are the only family I have left, and I swore to your parents I would keep you safe. I haven't exactly done a bang-up job of it so far, but, Merlin help me, I'm going to start now."

Harry looked at the friends to his left and right. They'd dropped everything to come on a suicide mission to rescue a man they'd either never met or barely knew, just because Harry asked them to. Hermione squeezed his hand and gave him a soft smile. Yes, these people had become his family; he'd just been too blind to see it.

 _Well, finally – have a biscuit, Potter_ , his inner-McGonagall voice snarked.

Harry swallowed the knot in his throat. "You're right. But let's try to prevent any of us from needing to keep that promise, shall we?"

Sirius grinned. "Sounds good, pup. Now, let's—"

Everyone froze as Harry clutched his scar, seized with pain, and fell unconscious on the sitting room floor.

Luna, her eyes wide with fear, whispered, " _He knows_."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 _Rage. White hot, unbearable rage. Flames licked up his spine, washing over him in relentless waves that would have brought a lesser man to his knees._

 _The edges of his vision had faded to black- or had the room been darkened so that he might not notice the Death Eaters cowering in the corner? Worthless fools. Didn't they know there was no hiding from_ him _?_

 _He pointed his wand at random and roared, "Crucio!"_

 _The nearest robed figure shrieked, contorting its body into an inhuman pose, and instantly he felt the comforting power of dark magic leach into his body. The louder the body screamed, the more the magic dampened the fury roiling in his belly._

 _Eventually, the rage ebbed enough for him to regain control. He lifted the curse and stalked away without a second thought to the whimpering near-corpse behind him._

 _He had been assured that his plan would work. The boy's shields were laughable, and his impulse control was worse. The mere idea of his blood traitor godfather being tortured should have been enough to bring him straight to the Ministry. Why hadn't he shown? He needed the boy to get the prophecy. He needed to know that his horcruxes were enough._

 _Sinking into a moldy wingback chair, he picked through every part of the plan. It was possible that the boy had no means of getting out of the castle, but, given Wormtail's intel, that was unlikely. Something else must have kept him…_

* * *

" _Harry_!" Sirius bellowed as his godson began to convulse. The other teens sprang into action.

Hermione began throwing Cushioning Charms at everything in Harry's vicinity while Ginny jerked a pillow off the couch and shoved it under his head. Neville, with surprising confidence, called Kreacher and ordered a Calming Draught, which he forced down Harry's throat. Ron knelt next to Harry, talking to his friend calmly despite his own white knuckles. Luna, after a long moment, hit the writhing boy with a spell muttered under her breath.

"Remus, go tell Shack about the Ministry invasion now," Sirius ordered through gritted teeth. "If he can get to Amelia, they may be able to catch whoever's waiting for Harry at the Ministry." Remus Apparated away on the spot.

He turned to the teens. "You all are entirely too practiced at that."

Hermione and Ron shared a look. "After the last one, the two of us decided that we needed a plan in case it happened again. He can't afford to injure himself on what's around him, and we think talking to him might help- no way to know, though," Hermione explained, leaving Ron to his quiet soothing.

"I had no idea what I was doing," Neville admitted. "I just did what my Gran does whenever I'm ill."

"I figured an actual pillow might be easier than trying to charm the floor under his head," Ginny shrugged. "Common sense."

Everyone turned to Luna, who was watching the scene rather detachedly. She offered no explanation of her mysterious spell.

"What was that spell, Luna?" Hermione asked, her curiosity getting the best of her even under stress. "It didn't look like any Healing Charm I've ever seen."

"I used a Jelly-Legs Curse," the blonde said. Seeing the others' confused stares, she continued, "His muscles were quite tense with all that shaking. This way, they can't seize as hard and perhaps he won't do any damage to himself."

"Genius," Neville muttered under his breath, and Hermione looked ashamed for having not thought of it herself.

They stood in silence, watching carefully as Harry's convulsions seemed to slowly dissipate. The sound of feet padding down the hallway broke their quiet vigil.

"Nice to see you've got this under control," Remus said, leaning against the doorframe. "Shack and I called Amelia, who, by the way, is going to want to talk to Harry when this is all over with. But she immediately shut down the Ministry Floos and closed off Apparition capabilities from everywhere except her office. She and Shack are taking four teams of Aurors to the ministry as we speak."

"Good to know," Sirius mumbled, his eyes still glued to his godson.

"Why don't we get Harry somewhere a bit more comfortable now that he's more stable," Remus suggested softly.

Sirius nodded, shaking himself. "Kreacher –"

The ancient elf appeared on the far side of the room. "What can Kreacher be doing for his blood-traitor master and his –"

"Shut up and take Harry to my bed," Sirius growled, "before I lose my temper and put your head with your ancestors'."

Kreacher gave him a dark look before quickly popping Harry away.

Everyone quickly filed out of the room and began climbing up another floor to the master suite. They had reached the final landing when a blood-curdling scream echoed down the hall. In a stumbling mess of arms, legs, wands, and expletives, they ran for Harry.

* * *

 _When he'd pushed the matter of the boy from his mind, he pulled out his yew wand and pressed it to his forearm to call Bella and Lucius. They would need to give report on the mission and be punished for their failures. After several long moments they had not returned, and he felt himself grow angrier at his lieutenants. He jabbed his wand into his Mark again, summoning them even more painfully. Still they did not appear._

 _In the back of his mind, he felt wrath tinge with concern. Bella was his most loyal servant, unafraid of whatever torture her Master might deign necessary. Nothing had ever kept her from him before, nothing except…_

 _He bolted upright in his chair as understanding and fury filled him in equal parts:_

 _HE KNOWS._

* * *

When they burst through the door, Kreacher was standing beside the bed, eyeing the thrashing boy with poorly concealed delight.

"What have you done to him, you evil bastard?" Sirius yelled over the wails, driving the tip of his wand into the elf's throat. Behind him, Hermione and Remus began examining Harry, and Ron let an irate Hedwig in through the window.

"Kreacher swears on the House of Black that he dids nothing. Kreacher puts the half-blood brat in the bed, just like he is told, nothing else," he croaked.

Sirius studied him for a moment before slowly removing his wand and turning back toward his still-struggling godson. "What's going on with him?"

"I don't know, I've never seen anything like this," Remus muttered, as he finished yet another crazy wand movement. "I've tried every diagnostic spell Alice taught us, and _physically_ there's nothing wrong with him." Everyone tried not to notice how Neville flinched at his mother's name.

Hermione harrumphed. "I keep telling you, there isn't anything wrong with him! The connection with V-Voldemort only affects Harry's mind but can manifest physically in tremors if he is really, really angry. I don't like it any more than the rest of you, but we just have to wait this out and hope that Voldemort calms down. What I _don't_ know is what brought on this second wave of rage," she said, pursing her lips in a frown.

Ron looked expectantly at Luna. "Okay, time for another prediction."

"I'm not a Seer, Ronald," she said crossly. "I just see things and make connections. Nothing more, nothing less."

"An intuitive," Remus offered.

Luna nodded. "Something like that. But if I had to _guess_ what brought this on, I'd say You-Know-Who got more bad news. We _think_ he's figured out that Harry isn't going to walk into his trap. Perhaps he's trying to find out why and doesn't like what he's hearing."

"Or not hearing," Neville added. "If the Aurors got to the Ministry in time, they would arrest everyone and no one would be able to report back to him."

"I bet he's got Bellatrix and Malfoy and ton of his other top Death Eaters at the Ministry!" Ron crowed. "It only makes sense to send in the best he's got against Harry, since he keeps slipping away from everyone else –"

"– and if _they_ didn't get out before the Aurors could arrest them, You-Know-Who is going to go spare," Ginny finished softly.

The ensuing silence, broken only by Harry's pants and occasional groans, weighed heavily on the room. Voldemort's wrath would spell trouble for more than just his Death Eaters.

Though he was improving, no one wanted to leave Harry's side, even to rest. Remus and Sirius transfigured comfy chairs and blankets for everyone as they began to settle down for the night. But, despite their best efforts, no one could sleep.

Hedwig perched on the ornate headboard, sometimes leaning down to nip her boy's hair affectionately. Ron, Neville, Luna, and Ginny talked quietly amongst themselves, though occasionally Luna had to be brought back into the conversation from her own dreamy headspace. Hermione joined them sporadically, but she spent most of the night either reading a transfiguration book or looking at Harry as though she wished she could crawl into his bed and comfort him. Similarly, Remus alternately read an old Black family grimoire or carefully watched Sirius, who did nothing all night but hold Harry's hand, stroke his hair, and softly tell him stories about his parents.

Somewhere in the night, Harry stilled. Sirius called Remus over to do his diagnostic charms, but nothing had changed; all they could do was wait for him to wake.

As morning dawned annoyingly bright and cheery, a padded _thunk_ hit a bedroom window, followed by an erratic tapping. Neville threw open the window, and Errol buzzed the room before depositing a smoking red envelope in Ron's lap.

"Sweet Merlin," he whispered before it burst into flames.

" _RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY! GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY! Running away? You and all your friends, gone from the castle? No note? No word on where to look for your bodies? Not to mention beating up other students, breaking at least a dozen school rules, and worrying your father and me sick! And did I mention RUNNING AWAY? When I find the two of you, I'm going to kill you both, even if I have to raise you from the dead to do it!_ And Harry, dear, if you're with them, I do hope you're all right. Look forward to seeing you at the Burrow this summer!"

The enveloped gave a final huff and fizzled out. As Ron moved to wipe the soot from his face, a hoarse voice called out: "Ron, you know I love your Mum, but I don't know how you've woken up to _that_ your entire life. Bloody terrifying."

Every eye (save for Errol's) snapped to the bed.

"Thank Merlin," Sirius whispered thickly. "Are you all right, Harry?"

Harry shrugged and then winced. "I'm fine. My throat is a little raw, and I've got a nasty headache. But mostly I'm sore, though not as bad as I expected." Luna beamed at that admission.

"Well, that's good to hear," Sirius said, tentatively ruffling Harry's black mop. "Want us to get out of here and let you sleep or get freshened up?"

"No," Harry responded forcefully. "I need you all to tell me what happened while I was out, and then I'll give you what I learned while I was in Voldemort's head."

"In his head?" Hermione cried as the blood drained from Ginny's face. "You can't have been in his head all this time. You'd be insane by now, it's simply not poss –"

Ginny laid a hand her friend's arm. "It is, Hermione. And I wouldn't wish it on anyone," she whispered, shooting Harry a knowing glance.

" _Anyway_ ," Ron said, plowing through the uneasiness in the room. "You collapsed in the drawing room, and you kind of started shaking again." Harry winced.

"And we all jumped in and did what we could to keep you from getting hurt while you did it," Luna chirped.

"Luna got you with a Jelly-Legs so you wouldn't be so sore," Neville interjected.

Harry smiled appreciatively at her, and she returned it.

"And then when you pretty much stopped convulsing, Kreacher popped you up here," Ginny continued.

"Wondered why I was in Sirius's bed," Harry muttered.

"We were following you up here when you started screaming," Hermione whispered. "You were seizing so hard I thought you were going to fall off the bed. And even when the screaming stopped, you shook for hours, but you then you didn't wake up when you stopped."

"We were all worried about you, pup," Remus added quietly. "Gave us quite the scare."

Harry hung his head. "I hate that I worried you all so much and that we're all probably going to be expelled because of me."

"But you're all right, and that's what matters. Voldemort, visions, Hogwarts, exams, none of that's important right now. We can deal with it all later," Sirius promised.

"All the same, I'm sorry," Harry said contritely, quickly followed by a smirk. "But I think you'll want to hear what I learned now rather than later. Voldemort's head isn't exactly a happy place to be, but it's quite educational, especially if he doesn't know you're there. I learned some new dark spells – yes, Remus, I'll tell you exactly which ones later – who some of the Death Eaters at the Ministry are, how he's going to take his revenge, etc., etc. And does anyone know what a horcrux is?"

* * *

AN: Edited for strange formatting and better story flow


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Sorry for the long wait, you guys! I had a lot going on IRL, and this chapter wound up being twice as long as the others. Plus, I finally managed to find a little mojo and got a pretty solid outline for the rest of the story – but no, I don't know how long this will be. I thought this chapter was going to be about 2000 words (like the last two). It's over 4300. So just hang in there with me – I really do appreciate your input and reviews! Thanks for reading!

* * *

Chapter 3

Silence.

The teens looked back at Harry with confusion and a bit of concern. Remus, on the other hand, gazed at him curiously while Sirius stared off into space as though he was trying to remember something.

"Can you tell us anything about them?" Hermione asked after a long moment. "If no one knows, we're going to have to research this. Anything you know might give us some clue as to where we should be looking."

Harry paled at the suggestion. "I'm not really sure. Voldemort's mind was really muddled when he was thinking about them, so I didn't catch much of it. Kind of like watching a movie too fast, you know?"

Amidst the larger confusion, Hermione and Remus nodded.

"But I know they're a not good thing. He felt so… possessive of them, I suppose. And the emotions when he remembered creating them… I…" Harry shuddered. "I feel like I need a shower just thinking about it. I think they're objects? But I don't know what, or where, or how exactly they came to be."

Remus said, "Whatever they are, they've got to be important. If that's what Voldemort was thinking about when he believed everything was going to shit, it's something we should at least look into."

Sirius nodded. "Remus and I will take a look at everything we've got in the Black family library. We've got grimoires full of stuff that would make even old Voldy squirm."

"I can look through the Hogwarts restricted section," Hermione volunteered.

"Me too!" Luna piped up. "It will go faster with two of us."

"That's assuming we're allowed to go back to school," Neville said morosely.

"Mum's going to kill us," Ron muttered, dusting phantom howler dust off his lap.

Harry shook his head. "There's got to be a way that you all can go back. I'll tell them I kidnapped you or something."

"And make yourself a fugitive like Sirius?" Ginny snarked. "That would actually go over quite well, too well in fact, especially with all the crap the Daily Prophet has been writing about you lately. So that's not going to work. You've got to stay out of the limelight, Harry."

"But now that Umbridge is gone and they've caught all those Death Eaters, they'll have to let Dumbledore back, won't they? Won't he let us come back?" Neville asked.

"There's no guessing what Fudge will do," Sirius replied, leaping out of his chair. "Come on, Remus, we need to make a call to Amelia and possibly a trip to the Ministry. Kids, have Kreacher make you some breakfast. _Kreacher_!"

The two adults dashed out of the room as Kreacher appeared.

The old elf snarled, "What cans Kreacher be doing for the young master? Filthy half-blood, defiling-"

"We'll have some breakfast please, Kreacher. Tea and toast and jam will be alright, I should think?" Hermione said, looking around for another opinion.

"Kreacher doesn't take orders from dirt-" Kreacher muttered.

Harry all but growled at him. " _Yes_ , you do. Tea, toast, and jam, Kreacher."

The elf popped away with a scowl.

"So what are we going to do if we can't go back to Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, chewing her bottom lip. "We can' just leave without taking our N.E.W.T.S. or we'll have our wands snapped."

"We could get private tutors," Neville explained. "Some old families do that anyway. But they're pretty expensive, and I think I would hate having to do all my lessons alone."

"What if we did it together?" Ginny suggested. "I know Luna and I are a year behind you lot, but we could still share tutors, just at different times."

Harry nodded slowly. "That could work. I'm sure Sirius would let us use Grimmauld Place so no one's parents would have us all underfoot."

"I really don't think it's going to come to that," Luna said. "Daddy says Director Bones is a reasonable witch, even if she doesn't believe in the Rotfang Conspiracy."

The others gaped at her for a moment before Ron continued. "Uh… yeah. Not to mention it would look bad on the Ministry's part if they kicked the kids who helped catch a bunch of Death Eaters out of Hogwarts."

Kreacher suddenly appeared bearing trays loaded with breakfast. He slammed them down on the bedside table and disappeared as quickly as he'd come. The teens quickly tucked into their food, starving after a long night of worry and, in Harry's case, thrashing about.

Just as they were finishing their meal, Sirius burst through the door, a broad smile on his face. "Good news, everyone! Dumbledore is headed back to Hogwarts, cleared of all charges!"

Loud cheers filled the room. Hedwig hooted from her perch on the headboard and nipped at Harry's ear, irritated at being woken at such an absurd hour.

"So does Fudge finally believe us?" Harry asked hopefully.

Remus smirked. "Amelia says the official story is that the group of people captured in the Department of Mysteries were attempting to steal a prophecy. But Amelia believes that Voldemort is back. She immediately tested everyone that was captured for the Imperius curse, and anything else she could think of, in front of the Minister himself. Fudge is none too happy one of the people captured was Lucius Malfoy, but he went along with Amelia. If I had to guess, there will a special evening edition of the Prophet tonight to deal with Voldemort's return. But you didn't hear that from me," he finished with a mischievous wink.

"Sirius, how did you talk to Director Bones without getting in trouble?" Hermione asked.

Sirius snorted. "I didn't. Remus here did all the smooth talking. He Floo called her, so I could hand him notes if I had something to say."

"We're really going to have to do something about getting your name cleared," Harry grumbled.

"I appreciate the sentiment, pup, but we have bigger doxies to dust off," Sirius assured him. "Like chatting with Dumbledore to make sure you're all able to go back to school."

Ginny dropped her head into her hands. "We should probably Floo mum as well. I know she's worried."

"Let me do it," Harry said quickly. "She's less likely to hex anyone if I'm the one who explains it to her."

"You're not getting out of bed until at least tomorrow," Sirius argued, pointing his finger at his godson.

They heard the Floo roar downstairs, and Sirius and Remus quickly drew their wands. Kreacher popped into the room, said, "The angry orange lady be here, sir,", and disappeared again.

Ron and Ginny turned a sickly green as a shriek echoed through the house: " _Sirius Black_!"

"Up here, Molly," Sirius yelled back, gesticulating wildly at the children behind him as he went to head her off.

Remus whispered, "Ron, Ginny, get in the chairs on either side of Harry. Quickly!"

The teens all scrambled into different chairs and managed to put themselves in "natural" positions just as Molly and Sirius burst into the room.

"Ron! Ginny! Don't think you're not in a heap of trouble for this!" she screeched before her eyes naturally fell to Harry. "But Harry, you poor dear, I'm hate that the ride over made you so ill- and you normally do so well on a broom! But you did the right thing in stopping off here to double check the address before going to Director Bones' house to report that nasty woman. She was quite busy last night and this morning- have you all seen the paper?"

Sirius leaned one shoulder against the door jamb, smirking. " _Umbridge_ ," he mouthed, looking rather pleased with his quick thinking.

"Uh… I, uh, yes ma'am, thank you," Harry stammered. Ginny and Ron slumped in relief- they'd avoided death-by-mum in the first two minutes, so it was unlikely to happen at all.

The Floo came to life again downstairs, and Kreacher ushered Dumbledore up to the master bedroom.

"Harry, my boy, I can't tell you how glad I am to see you well," Dumbledore began. "You gave us all quite the scare, disappearing like that."

Molly nodded fiercely. "Harry, dear, you can't just run-"

Dumbledore held up a hand to quiet her. "Thank you, Molly, I believe I can take it from here. And perhaps Arthur would like to know that everyone is alright?"

"Arthur! Of course!" Molly yelped, scurrying toward the door. She stopped just long enough to glare at her children and say, "You two aren't out of the woods, yet, just you wait."

When the Weasley matriarch had gone back through the Floo, Dumbldore spoke again. "Harry, I was wondering if we might discuss last night's events."

Harry nodded and opened his mouth to reply.

"Alone, if you all don't mind," Dumbledore said quickly, glancing at the other teens.

"Sir, if you want to know what happened, they're going to have to be here. I was passed out for most of it," Harry argued.

Dumbledore's surprised and slightly put-out expression didn't escape anyone's notice. "Very well, my boy. Proceed."

The teens launched into their story a second time, explaining the thought processes behind all their decisions and how Harry had actually been trapped in Voldemort's mind. By the time they finished their tale, Dumbledore's frown had deepened substantially.

"Interesting," Dumbledore said, stroking his beard. "Very interesting. I know that I don't have to tell you, Harry, but I shall just in case: this connection with Voldemort is quite dangerous. You must resume your Occlumency lessons with Professor Snape immediately."

"I thought it was Remedial Potions," Neville muttered under his breath.

Harry looked at the old man darkly. "I won't do that, sir."

"You must, Harry. We cannot allow this connection to remain open," Dumbledore argued, sitting back in his chair with an expression that said the matter was closed for discussion.

"I don't mind learning Occlumency, sir," Harry explained. "I just won't learn it from Snape. We hate each other, and I learned absolutely nothing from him all year.

"I'll teach Harry over the summer," Sirius exclaimed. "It's something every Black had to learn. I'm sure Remus could help me," and the werewolf nodded.

Dumbledore studied both Sirius and Harry for a moment. "Very well," he said slowly. "But I must stress the importance of becoming proficient in Occlumency, Harry."

Harry nodded vigorously- anything to get out of more lessons with Snape.

In a sudden change of mood, Dumbledore clapped his hands together and smiled. "I must be off, back to Hogwarts! Lots to do, lots to do, as I'm sure you know. I'll expect to see you all back for the end of term by Monday morning," he said, eyes twinkling gaily.

"Of course, thank you sir!" Hermione squeaked.

Dumbledore exited the room in a swirl of brightly patterned fabric. When they heard him go back through the Floo, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Bonkers, he is," Ron muttered, "wanting you to start back with Snape."

"Those 'lessons' were absolute rubbish," Hermione added.

"Which is why I will be teaching Harry Occlumency," Sirius said. "In fact, if any of you are interested, I'd be glad to help all of you."

Neville perked up. "Really? My gran's been putting off my lessons until I got better at… well, magic, I suppose."

"I think it would be good for all of us to learn. We all know things that are meant to be kept secret," Ginny said.

"I'm all for being able to keep our minds safe from intruders," Ron said, "but should Harry really just cut off this connection with Voldemort completely?"

"Of course!" Sirius and Remus cried together.

"Not so fast," Hermione reasoned. "Let's think this through."

Ron took a deep breath and presented his case. "I know it's going to sound crazy, but hear me out. From what we've seen, if it's a genuine connection, Harry can usually feel when one of these 'episodes' or whatever is coming on. But last night the fake one came on suddenly, which is completely different. What if Harry kept this connection thingy open and we only considered the visions that came on slowly to be true?"

"But that's so dangerous!" Ginny cried. "What if he's alone and he starts to convulse?"

"We could use another version of the modified Galleons," Luna suggested. "If Harry starts to feel one coming on, he can let us know, and one of us can find him and get ready for whatever is about to happen."

"But what if it's a false vision and he _doesn't_ feel it coming on? It's still going to be an issue, especially if we're in classes or if he's playing Quidditch," Neville reminded them.

"It's too dangerous!" Sirius threw in. Arguments started flying across the room, and the noise level steadily crescendoed.

"Has anybody thought to ask Harry's opinion on the matter?" Luna asked gently.

Conversation froze as everyone looked over at Harry rather abashedly.

"I'm all for keeping it open," Harry said firmly. "The modified Galleons are a good idea, especially if Hermione made them for just us, but maybe we should use something different this time. And Hermione always comes to our practices, so between her and Ron I'm sure I could even stay on a broom for Quidditch. Maybe use a sticking charm, yeah? I know Dumbledore thinks keeping the connection open is dangerous, but something about his attitude just doesn't sit right with me. I don't _distrust_ him, but I think I think there's a lot he's not telling me about this connection, so I don't really trust his opinion on it. And if this can get us any more information on Voldemort, I think it's worth whatever risk."

Ron smiled grimly. "It's settled then. Hermione, can you get started charming those new things for us?"

"May I suggest pendants?" Remus suggested. "I could help Hermione charm them so that they stayed invisible. That way you'd never have to take them off."

"Brilliant," Harry smiled.

Sirius glared at his old friend. "I thought you were on my side!"

"I still don't think this is a good idea," Remus insisted, "but this is the decision they've made together. Truthfully, I can't even fault their logic. So if this is what they're going to do, then I want to make sure they have every advantage and resource to help keep Harry safe."

"I still don't like it, but I understand," Sirius huffed.

Hermione cleared her throat. "The only problem I can see with the current plan is how to keep V-Voldemort from knowing Harry's in his mind, too. Honestly, I think last night was a bit of fluke."

Harry frowned. "I don't know that it was really a fluke- I feel like the Calming Draught helped keep me calm enough that he didn't notice my emotions in the background. But I'd like to have something a bit more concrete to fall back on; I don't want to let him know what I see because he'll just change his plans. Sirius, do you think if I got good enough at Occlumency I'd still be able to enter Voldemort's mind without tipping him off?"

Sirius scratched his chin. "I suppose, theoretically, anything is possible. But I can't guarantee it, Harry."

"It's worth a shot then," Harry assured him.

Straightening himself nobly, Sirius said, "Then let's get started now. I'd like for you to be able to practice the basics while you're at Hogwarts and the Dursley's."

"All right then, so Hermione and Professor Lupin are starting on the necklaces, Sirius and Harry are starting on Occlumency training. What should the rest of us do?" Ginny asked.

"We could come up with a specific, written plan for all of this," Ron suggested, waving his hand about. "We need a solid plan with the who's, what's, and how's for responding to one of Harry's visions."

Luna murmured, "A possession protocol."

Remus grinned. "I like it. Sounds like a solid plan, you lot. And it's _Remus_ , Ginny, I haven't been your professor for two years," he scolded gently.

"All right, all right, can we get started already?" Ron whined. "I'd like to get it all shored up by lunchtime."

Chuckles and giggles echoed through the room – some things never changed.

The families split off to tend to their various tasks with excitement. Despite their best efforts, each group had to work through lunch, nibbling on sandwiches and fruit between meditations, discussions of runic theory, and catastrophe planning. Eventually, everyone dragged themselves back to the kitchen and reconvene in time for supper.

"So how are those necklaces going, Hermione? Remus?" Harry asked, rubbing his eyes beneath his glasses.

"We finished them about half an hour ago," Hermione yawned. "We did some testing and they seem to work just fine."

Remus nodded and handed a small box to Luna on his left. "Just have to put them on each of you and make sure the invisibility holds."

Necklaces with circular pendants the size of a bottle cap were passed around the table, and unsurprisingly everything was in perfect working order. Remus gave a quick demonstration on how to work them- pinch the pendant between your thumb and ring finger while whispering the message. When he'd done it, the other pendants warmed and displayed the message.

"We couldn't make them much larger without using substantially more energy. I hate that, because only a dozen or so words will fit on the pendant, but I suppose it will do for now," Hermione sighed.

"Thanks, you guys," Harry promised, "they're great."

"Good going, you two," Ginny murmured drowsily as the meal appeared on the table before them.

In turn, everyone heaved the serving utensils onto their plates, and Neville nearly dropped the whole gravy boat onto his potatoes. Though the food was delicious, the group had trouble digging in with much gusto, even Ron.

"How did the planning go, you lot?" Sirius asked.

Luna blinked owlishly. "Well, we took what we knew of next year's classes and plotted out who would theoretically be nearest to Harry at any given time."

"Great, an entire team of stalkers," Harry muttered, which earned him a none-too-gentle smack from Hermione.

"It's just to keep you safe, mate," Ron assured him. "We aren't going to follow you around. It's just so we know who has the chance to get there fastest and would be expected start on the protocol."

Sirius perked up. "What does this protocol actually call for?"

Neville passed sheets of parchment around to everyone. "So what the protocol consists of is basically all the things we did last night. We just put them in a logical order based on what seemed to help most. Any input, Harry?"

Harry looked down at the list of tasks:

Call for help

Assess situation for immediate needs (healing charms, silencing charms, etc.)

Apply Cushion Charms to nearby hazards

Place conjured cushion beneath head

Apply Jelly-Legs Jinx

Administer Calming Draught

If necessary, clear area of "sensitive materials"

Assess situation for any further needs (protective wards, location sparks, etc.)

Talk calmly and softly until help arrives

"You guys really thought of everything, didn't you?" Remus mused.

Luna smiled softly. "We tried. There are a few things we'll need to do soon, like brew a stock of Calming Draught so everyone can keep some in their bags and practice conjuring cushions. Other than that, we tried to come up with everything that could help keep both Harry and all of his secrets safe."

Harry shot her an appreciative glance.

"Our biggest problem now is how to make sure Harry can call for help before he passes out," Ginny said, stretching her arms and back.

"I think I'll be able to do it on my own," Harry replied slowly. "I don't have any kind of real shields at this point, but I was able to slow Sirius down a bit before he made it into my mind."

Sirius grunted noncommittally. "If he keeps up his training for the next couple of weeks, I'd say he could hold out long enough to send out the mayday." When the other purebloods looked at him curiously, Sirius just shrugged. "It's a muggle term I picked up from Lily. She used it all the time during our planning meetings."

Harry sat riveted, soaking up a new story about his mother. "What else did you learn from my mum?"

Sirius and Remus shared a glance before roaring with laughter.

"Pup, he could write an entire book on the things he learned from Lily, whether he wanted to learn them or not!" Remus cackled, wiping tears from his eyes.

Sirius let out a final wheeze. "But I'm afraid that will have to wait. You lot need to get on up to bed!"

The teens let out a series of whines and groans.

"Yes, yes, yes, to bed with you all! It's been a long weekend already! Go on now," Sirius clucked, shooing them out of the kitchen.

Sirius got them each set up in their own rooms, complete with pajamas and a change of clothes for the next day. Despite their previous protests, the friends were all asleep before their heads even hit their pillows.

Sunday was delightfully lazy. The teens were delighted to have the chance to sleep late, and Kreacher prepared a decadent brunch of waffles with strawberries, whipped cream, and powdered sugar. Even though exams were already finished, after eating Hermione planted herself in the Black family library, flipping through an advanced transfiguration book for a bit. She eventually joined the rest of the teens who, having tired of Exploding Snap and Chess, had discovered Remus's collection of Muggle board games. Harry, whose memories of many Muggle games were rather unpleasant, spent the afternoon listening to Sirius and Remus tell stories about his parents.

The students Flooed back to Hogwarts just in time for dinner. When they arrived, they were immediately bombarded with questions, but they kept quiet about their weekend activities. The official story was that they'd run to Sirius and threatened to quit school because of Umbridge, but no one in their right mind believed Hermione would leave Hogwarts. This, coupled with the mysterious arrest of many prominent citizens as Death Eaters, created a heavy cloud of doubt. Rumors were bred in the disbelief, and soon half the student body claimed the six friends had stormed the ministry and taken down the Death Eaters on their own. When she heard it, Ginny snorted at the ridiculousness.

In what was left of the term, Hermione and Luna all but lived in the library. When they had exhausted everything they could think of, the two witches borrowed Harry's invisibility cloak and dug through the restricted section, all to no avail.

Harry had his own project in mind. The morning before the Leaving Feast, Harry finished packing his belongings and made the trek to Dumbledore's office. Before he could even ask the gargoyle to let the headmaster know he was there, the sculpture moved and revealed the spiral staircase. When he'd hiked to the top of the stairs, he heard Dumbledore call, "Come in, Harry."

The office looked exactly the same as Harry had last left it. The same shiny silver gadgets still hummed and whirred and spouted steam. Fawkes preened on his perch, a myriad curious books filled the shelves, and the smell of lemon drops hung in the air. Yet something felt… different.

The headmaster sat with his elbows on his desk, fingers steepled under his chin. He regarded Harry with a warm smile and twinkling eyes, but there was a piercing quality to his gaze that Harry had never registered before. It was like Sirius's when he had been teaching him Occlumency…

Harry quickly broke eye contact with the headmaster. Sirius had thoroughly ingrained in him to look away if he thought anyone was performing Legilimency because it was a hundred times easier through direct eye contact. As he strode toward the headmaster's desk, Harry started sorting through various Quidditch plays in his head. That was lesson two from Sirius: if you can't keep looking away, try to distract them if they get in.

Dumbledore didn't miss a beat. "Harry, my boy! Come to say goodbye before the start of Summer break?"

"Er, sort of, sir," Harry replied.

Dumbledore nodded sagely. "Alas, another visit that is more business than pleasure. I hate to say that we've had quite a lot of these over the past few years. What troubles you, Harry?"

Harry sank into one of the comfortable chairs in front of the desk. The headmaster wasn't acting as though he'd noticed Harry's redirected thoughts. Maybe it had just been a trick of the light…

"During the, uh, _incident_ last week, I caught a word in Voldemort's thoughts that I didn't understand. Have you ever heard of a horcrux, sir?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore recoiled as though he'd been slapped. Despite his reaction, Harry could almost see the wheels of denial turning in the old man's head. Finally, he replied, "I am… somewhat familiar with the idea. But Harry, I must warn you not to go looking into this. Horcruxes are a dark and very dangerous piece of magic."

Harry frowned. It was a much greater admission than he'd been expecting. "But sir-"

"Now, now, my boy, leave this to me. I'll see that it's looked into," Dumbldore assured him. "Perhaps you should spend a few more hours with your friends before you return to Privet Drive. The shore of the Black Lake is particularly inviting this time of year, I do believe."

Harry knew a dismissive eye twinkle when he saw it. "Of course, sir. Have a nice summer."

"You too, Harry, my boy. I look forward to seeing you next term," the old man said.

Despite his desire to be angry at the headmaster, Harry decided to take the old man's advice and spend the afternoon by the lake with his friends – one last golden memory before returning to Privet Drive.

* * *

AN2: Also, I may be going through and making some minor edits for aesthetic purposes (adding chapter headings, adding line breaks if necessary, etc.) Just a heads up!


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